Two Sides of a Coin
by Himura Masaki
Summary: After capturing Reverse-Flash and putting him into the pipeline, Team Flash remembered that there was one other person whose life was ruined by this fake Harrison Wells. Hartley Rathaway.


For the first time in a few months, Barry Allen didn't have a thing to worry about. Well, that's an exaggeration, the Flash always has things to worry about. Having Dr. Wells locked away in the pipeline however, definitely gave Barry a gush of relief every time he looked through the glass to face the Man in Yellow - Dr. Harrison Wells. Or Eobard Thawne. Safe and secure in a prison of his own making. He sighed and walked into the cortex after his short conversation with Reverse Flash. He was a little upset at finding out that he was the main reason his mother was dead, because if future Barry hadn't travelled back in time to save himself, Nora Allen would have been alive. But then Barry wouldn't have been. It bothered him beyond anything. Still, he grinned sheepishly at Cisco who was slurping at his coffee.

"Well," Cisco smiled, "How does it feel to see your mom's killer finally where he belongs?"

Barry shook his head, "Well, it's going to take a bit more to exonerate my dad, but it feels great." He smiled and walked around the desk to the friend, "So guys, I was thinking. What about Hartley? Or Pied Piper? I don't know what name these Metas prefer anymore."

Barry had to hold in a chuckle when he saw Cisco physically cringe at the mention of Hartley Rathaway, or the Pied Piper. Caitlin stood up from her seat and looked at Barry, speaking for Cisco, "What about him, Barry?"

Barry sighed, "Well, he was right about Wells… Wells did know that there was going to be an explosion and he knew it would happen, so we're going to have to tell him that Wells turned out to be evil. He used to work here too, and he was fired because he was on the right side. His life ruined by a man who isn't even Dr. Wells, and that's whom you've all thought you worked for. And me. I just don't think it's fair that he never finds out about any of this."

Cisco took a deep breath and nodded, "As much as I hate Hartley, Barry's got a point. We're going to need to get that Pied Piper back in here and tell him the truth. He deserves to know, just as any of us did."

Caitlin nodded and sighed, "I'll call him. But what if he gets here and goes on another rampage?"

Cisco grinned sheepishly and walked out of the room to his lab. He walked back with a pair of cuffs, "I've been working on these babies to dampen Meta-human powers. They haven't been tested, but we have a Meta-human right here to test them on, don't we?"

Barry laughed a bit and held out his hands, "I'll tell you, Cisco, this is not how I imagined today was going to go down. Getting cuffed by my best friend."

Cisco cackled and slipped the cuffs onto Barry's wrists, then pointed to their special treadmill. Barry walked over to it and started running, half expecting to be able to speed anyway. To his surprise, he could barely run a few steps before he was already exhausted and in pain. Unable to harness the Speed Force with those cuffs on. Soon enough he stopped and shook his head.

"They seem to be working perfectly fine. But what if they only work on a Speedster? Hartley's powers are very different than mine."

Cisco nodded and sighed, "I guess I'll have to test them on Ronnie and Professor Stein to be sure then. They sleeping downstairs, Caitlin?" Caitlin nodded and Cisco ran downstairs.

Barry sighed and looked at Caitlin, "I'll have to wear my Flash suit throughout our encounter. I can't risk him finding out who I am, especially if we're not on the same side of the coin."

Caitlin nodded and smiled, "Your identity is safe, Barry."

He nodded and sighed, "Well, I'm going to run over to Jitters. I promised Iris I'd meet her soon. I think I'll just text Joe about this idea, he'll probably freak out if I go see him to tell him that we're about to pull a truce with a jerk Meta who already fought against us once before."

Caitlin smiled and nodded, "It's a noble idea, and I think he'll understand that it's just who you are that won't allow you to let Hartley go down for Thawne's crimes."

Barry shrugged a bit and sped out of STAR labs towards Jitters, deciding to put off texting Joe for a little bit. When he walked inside the cafe, he immediately noticed Iris sitting inside at their regular table. He walked up to her and smiled, "Hey, Iris."

Iris sighed and looked up at him, "You know, Barry, there's a point where I just start wondering how you of all people are late all the time."

Barry shrugged a bit and shook his head, chuckling, "It's a talent, Iris. I'll grab a drink and be back, then we'll talk."

He smiled and walked towards the counter, glad to be over Iris and now able to talk to her about Eddie very normally. However, Barry Allen is not coordinated enough to be able to walk and think about something else, so he ended up walking into a shorter male, sending said male's drink flying. Barry instinctively caught the drink with his super speed and smirked sideways at his reflexes.

"Nice reflexes, there." A familiar voice came from in front of him, making his eyes widen a bit in anxiety. He looked down to see just who it was he had walked into, and of course, it was none other than Hartley Rathaway, dressed quite adorably at that. He was wearing a button up light olive shirt with a dark grey waistcoat over top, unbuttoned. He also had a loosely done green tie around his neck. And he was wearing skinny black jeans. Totally not what Barry remembered seeing him in last time, though he had looked quite decent in the dark green cape.

Barry bit his lip nervously and smiled at the male, "Just lucky… Here you go." He handed the coffee back to Hartley. He started walking towards the counter, hoping Hartley would walk away. To his disappointment, Hartley walked with him.

Hartley tilted his head to the side and smiled, "Is that your girlfriend?"

Barry turned around to see Iris looking into her laptop and then back at Hartley awkwardly, "That? Oh, uh, no… She's my best friend. We're kinda like siblings." _Is Hartley Rathaway hitting on me? Oh, this is so not good._

Barry ordered his drink and Hartley smiled, "Great, so I can ask you out then?"

Barry's eyes widened and he looked down at Hartley. _Yup. Totally hitting on me._ "Uh. Um… I..guess?" Barry's own awkwardness would, one day, be the end of him.

Hartley laughed, "You are really adorable. I'm Hartley…" He held out his hand.

 _Huh,_ Barry thought in amusement, _Hartley is just like any normal person when he's not on a rampage to destroy Central City. He's actually kinda…cute._ He took Hartley's hand and smiled, "Barry. Nice to meet you."

Hartley smiled and tilted his head, but before he could say anything, Barry took a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and wrote down his number on it. He handed it to Hartley and smiled, "I'm not blowing you off, but I promised Iris I'd hear her out."

Hartley smiled and pocketed the paper, sneaking a wink at Barry, "I'll put this to good use then."

Barry walked back over to Iris with a sheepish grin on. _This can't be too bad now, can it?_ Iris was also grinning sheepishly when Barry returned.

"Well done, CSI Allen. You've finally figured out how to give someone your number and ask him out."

Barry chuckled and smiled, "Well, I'll tell you, Iris, I wasn't expecting him to hit on me. Though there is a slight problem."

Iris' smile fell and she frowned, "There is not! He is perfectly adorable and you two would be great!"

Barry laughed and shook his head, "Not that! He's, uh, a Meta. And the Flash fought him a few weeks back."

Iris' eyes widened and she burst out laughing, "Wait, so you were openly flirting with an evil Meta?"

Barry shrugged a bit and laughed, "Can't be that bad, right? Besides, I don't think he's evil… He seems quite nice. There is something exciting about going on a date with a bad guy." He smirked. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Iris sighed and frowned, "It's Eddie. Ever since we saved him from Wells… He's just so…different. It's like he doesn't want to be around me anymore."

Barry sighed and reached forward, holding Iris' hand reassuringly, "I'm sure he's just in shock after being starved and tied up for days. So just give him some time."

Iris nodded and sighed, "Yeah… I just wish he'd talk to me. You know, I found a ring when we found him? He was going to propose to me… And earlier, it just seemed right. Now I don't know if he ever will."

Barry sighed and squeezed Iris' hand, "I'm sure it'll be fine. Maybe you should talk to him. Tell him that you found it and ask him why he's being distant?"

Iris nodded and laughed a bit, "I'm sorry you had to think of this on a day you got asked out by such an adorable boy."

Barry laughed, "Don't call him a boy! I feel like a pedophile now."

Iris smiled and punched his shoulder, "Okay, now go! Let me write my report here."

Barry faked a pout and sighed, "Guess you don't need me when there's nothing to complain about."

Iris laughed and shook her head, "Go text him back, Barry. Love you."

Barry's eyes widened and he stood up, chuckling softly, "You know how much I've wanted to hear those words from you? And now that I'm hearing them, it just feels normal. Nothing like I'd once expected. But I guess that's a good thing. Love you too, Iris."

Iris smiled and looked after Barry's back as he walked away. "I'm glad for you, Barry," she whispered to herself as he walked out the door.

Barry sighed and looked down at his phone as he walked away. A text from Hartley with just a heart emoji so Barry had his number. _Of course he likes puns. All us nerds are the same_. Barry smiled and saved the contact as just a heart emoji, then texted back with a bear emoji.

Just then, he received a text from Caitlin calling him back to STAR labs because they were ready to call Hartley. He sighed and just speed typed a long message to Joe to tell him what they were planning in relation to Hartley. He then sped off towards STAR labs.

He walked into the cortex with a bit of a sheepish smile again, only this time it was accompanied by a pink tint in his cheeks. One that wasn't going to wear off any time soon. Cisco raised an eyebrow, "Dude. If you got asked out by a cute blonde, chances are she's Cold's sister."

Barry shook his head and shrugged, "It was a guy, actually…"

Cisco raised his eyebrow, "You were asked out by Captain Cold?"

Barry laughed and shook his head, "No, Cisco! As much as the fangirls would like that…"

Caitlin smiled and looked at Barry, standing up, "Does this male have a name?"

Barry bit his lip, "This was a coincidence and you guys better not judge!"

Cisco rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I judge what I want. I need a name right now."

Caitlin laughed, "He won't. We're just glad you're able to look beyond Iris, Barry."

Barry looked from Caitlin to Cisco and back, then took a deep breath, "Hartley Rathaway." Cisco opened his mouth as if to scream but Barry continued, "It was a coincidence! Iris wanted to meet me at Jitters and so I went there, but Hartley was there and he started hitting on me and he just looked so cute, I couldn't help it."

Cisco sighed and shook his head, "We'll talk about both yours and my bad date choices later, for now, put on the suit. And Barry, now that Hartley knows your voice, you need to change it. And vibrate your face too. We can't risk him finding out."

Caitlin nodded as Barry sped into the suit. She smiled and pulled up Hartley's number on her phone and called, putting it on speaker.

After two rings, Hartley answered, his expected snide tone, "Is this finally to invite me for your wedding, Caitlin?"

Barry tried not to chuckle as he heard Hartley's snide voice, and found himself mentally comparing it to the cute flirty voice he'd just heard not too long ago.

Caitlin smiled at Barry for a moment before responding on the phone, "Hey Hartley. This is actually about Dr. Wells. Can you come over to STAR Labs? We want to call a truce with you."

"Why? Finally realized that Harrison isn't the angel you thought him to be?"

Caitlin sighed, "Yeah. Among other things. It's hard to explain all of it on the phone, Hartley."

Hartley took a moment before answering, "Fine. Can you send the Scarlet over to fetch me? I'm on the bridge. It's a lot to walk."

Barry chuckled softly at the pout he could hear with that line. He sped out of STAR Labs with the cuffs and all the way to the bridge. It didn't take long to find his future date in the same clothes he'd seen him in earlier. _Well of course, that was like twenty minutes back at most._ He put the cuffs on Hartley before he could react and then spoke in the voice he used to speak to Iris in, "You can imagine why we had to do that. It's just a precaution." He sighed and held Hartley by the waist, trying desperately to keep the Flash and Barry Allen separate at this point. He sped them back over to the Labs and set Hartley down on a seat.

Hartley looked up at the Flash, "Thanks. Always wanted to be cuffed and kidnapped. You just keep fulfilling my fantasies, don't you Scarlet?" He then turned to Cisco and smirked, speaking in Spanish, "Little Cisco. Did you manage to find Ronnie? Or was it too much to expect you and the team to be able to do that?"

Cisco scowled at Hartley and replied in Spanish, "He's actually downstairs. Would you like to let me have at you?"

Barry sighed and sat down on a chair next to Hartley, still making his face and vocal cords vibrate to avoid recognition, "Okay, let's cool it. We're here to talk about Dr. Wells. Or… Thawne, rather."

Hartley turned to the Flash and tilted his head, "Who's Thawne?"

Caitlin sighed, "Strap in, this is a long story."

And so, Team Flash started talking. Telling Hartley just about everything they'd ever known about Harrison Wells. Eobard Thawne. How he was from the future and had killed Tess Morgan and Harrison Wells when he came to this timeline. How he'd killed Simon Stag and Mason Bridge. How he'd engineered the Particle Accelerator just so that the Flash could exist and he could go home. How he'd killed Cisco in an alternate timeline, and that fact, surprisingly made Hartley more shocked than Cisco would have thought it would make him. They told Hartley about Thawne being the Reverse Flash and about him wanting nothing more than to defeat the Flash, and he came back in time for that one reason.

By the end of the almost hour-long story, Hartley just took a deep breath and looked down at his lap, as if trying to digest all that. He looked up at the three of them, especially at Caitlin and Cisco because he could actually read their faces. And, unfortunately, he could tell that none of it was a lie.

"I mean… I'd sort of figured that he was evil but…he's not even Harrison Wells? I was working for an evil villain from the future?"

Caitlin sighed, "I know it's a lot to take in, but you did work here. Flash didn't want you to bear the brunt of his crime without even knowing what his real objectives were."

Hartley sighed and looked at the Flash, "I appreciate that… You really are a hero after all." He sighed and stood up, biting his lip nervously. He walked around to the computer and looked at the screen showing Thawne stuck in the pipeline. He looked up at Barry and sighed, "Can I talk to him?"

Barry nodded and stood up, "I'll take him down to the pipeline." He sighed and walked Hartley out of the room and down to the pipeline. He let Hartley in and just stood back to let Hartley talk to Thawne.

Hartley walked up to the glass, pushing his glasses up as he looked into Wells'- Thawne's eyes. _This whole Thawne thing is going to take a bit to get used to._ He looked up at the man who at some point in the past had received all of Hartley's respect and all of Hartley's admiration.

Thawne looked down at Hartley with a look of adoration, like the look a father would give his new-born. "Hartley," he purred out in a delicate tone.

Hartley glared up at the man in the yellow suit and spat out, "Don't call me that. And don't look at me like you care about me, Thawne."

Thawne laughed and looked over at Barry in the back, "So he knows?" He looked back at Hartley, "What did they tell you? That I'm evil? That I'm the Reverse Flash? That I killed Harrison Wells, Nora Allen, Simon Stag, and many others?"

Hartley's glare didn't let up, "I was right. You did know about the chance that there would be an explosion. In fact, you knew it for certain, but you created and launched the Accelerator anyway."

Thawne nodded, "That is correct. I needed the Flash so I could get home."

Hartley snarled up at the man, "And how many more, Thawne? How many more people have you hurt? How many homes have you destroyed so you can get back to yours? You know, till today, I thought that the screaming in my ears was something that couldn't have been helped because you had launched the Accelerator for the greater good of humanity. That you truly had faith in what you were doing. But now I find out that I have a screaming in my ears every single day because of you. Because _you_ travelled back in time, killed someone and took his place to create the Flash. Because _you_ decided that for your sake, any number of people could get hurt." Hartley could feel tears stinging at his eyes, "Till today, I thought that you fired me because you assumed that there wouldn't be an explosion because the chances were low. Now I know that I didn't know anything. Even as I stood against you, telling people that you're evil, I didn't know a tenth of the evil you actually are, Harris- Thawne!"

Thawne laughed a bit, albeit sombrely, "But of course. I know I've hurt many people, but it was all so I could get home. So I could get back to my family. Now I know your family hasn't treated you the best, Hartley, but some people have families that they care for. And I was willing to do anything to get mine back. Tell me Hartley. You accuse me of being selfish, but how different are you? You tried to bring Central City down because of your feud with me. Am I really all that different than you?"

Hartley slammed his fist against the glass and felt his tears streaming down his cheeks, "Don't you dare! Don't even try to justify yourself! You've caused Central City so much damage and you've hurt so many people all because you what? Wanted to? I'm not saying I'm much better, but I don't try to act like I am. You try to look like a saint while really being the worst villain of all. Why did you travel back in the first place?"

Barry yelped at that question, his face no longer vibrating and he bit his lip, not knowing what Wells would say, but it would give him away as the Flash. Not to mention that he didn't expect Hartley to be crying like this. Thankfully, Wells- Thawne didn't have the chance to answer the question because Hartley continued, "I trusted you! I respected you! I admired you and that's the single reason I came here to work for you. I wanted to be of use to you. And I genuinely thought that you may have cared for me. I saw you as a father, Thawne! But I was nothing to you. Just a replaceable pawn like any other. Cisco, Caitlin, Ronnie, Stein, Flash… They were no different were they? Because on your chess board there's only a king, you, and everyone else is a pawn."

Thawne tilted his head, looking absolutely sincere in his response, "You're a true poet, you know that? But none of that is not true, Hartley. When you worked for me, I truly enjoyed all the conversations I had with you about life, about the world, about philosophy, about science. And every game of chess we played. Truth is, Hartley. In many ways, you had shown me what it was like to have a son."

Hartley glared up at Thawne despite the tears, "Don't pull that line on me. Cisco already told me how you used that line before you killed him in an alternate timeline. You're just a despicable villain who would do anything for yourself."

Thawne looked at Hartley with an amused grin, "Tell me, Hartley, why do you accuse me of these things? And you haven't even heard me out, my side of the story. Aren't we scientists supposed to be unbiased? Aren't we supposed to look at every side of the dice? All you've seen so far is the Flash's side."

Hartley snarled and bit back any more tears that threatened to fall, "Don't even try to convince me that you're anything but a detestable scumbag who doesn't give a rat's ass about anybody but himself. You probably don't even care for your family a third of how much you pretend to."

Thawne laughed and nodded, "Of course. You would know all about not caring for family now wouldn't you, Hartley."

Hartley slammed his fist against the glass again, feeling his eyes brimming with tears, "I _love_ my family! They may not approve of me right now, but some day, they will! I'm nothing like you, Thawne! So stop trying to convince yourself that I am!"

Thawne laughed a bit and started talking, but before Hartley heard anything, he was out of the pipeline. Hartley closed the doors behind him before collapsing to his knees and continuing to cry - to wail, more precisely. Barry immediately rushed over, but had to hold back the urge to hug Hartley. He sighed and knelt down beside him, rubbing his back gently. Hartley looked up at the Flash, as if to tell him off, but continued to cry. He just couldn't believe that his life had been ruined, and he couldn't find a job in his field, all because of a man who wasn't even who he claimed to be. A man who destroyed Hartley's life, along with countless others, just for his own gain.

It took quite a while before Hartley finally calmed down. He sighed and looked up at the Flash, "Go ahead. You can make fun of me."

Barry shook his head and changed his voice, "I don't want to. I know what it's like. I had it rough when I found out too."

Hartley sighed and rubbed his swollen eyes, "I was having a great day until you and your team contacted me. I woke up on the right side of the bed, had a great morning, didn't get noticed by my family so they didn't yell at me for being a good-for-nothing. I met a really handsome guy at Jitters, and he even gave me his number. Things were going great. And now I don't even want to think about him, because I can't imagine how disgusted he would be to go on a date with someone who cries like a baby over finding out his ex-boss is a murderer."

Barry sighed and shook his head, reaching down at holding Hartley's hand, "I don't think he'd be disgusted at all. If he was interested in you, he still will be regardless of what makes you cry."

Hartley glared up at Barry, yanking his hand away, "How could _you_ possibly know that?"

Barry sighed and hesitated for a moment. He waited for a while in silence, not answering, until he finally built up the courage. He reached up and took the Flash mask off, looking down at Hartley, no longer changing his voice, "Because I'm still interested."

Hartley's eyes widened and he pulled away from Barry, standing up and stepping as far away as he could before hitting his back against the wall. He looked at Barry, "You're…the Flash."

Barry took a deep breath and nodded, not stepping towards Hartley for fear of how he was going to react. "Yeah… Uh. It was a coincidence to run into you at Jitters. I wasn't following you. And I most definitely…uh…wasn't expecting to have my day made by you. But you did make it. And I know we've fought in the past. And… oh boy, this is not how I wanted you to find out."

Hartley looked up at Barry, a little in confusion and a little in amusement. "I was flirting with the Flash?" Barry nodded with a chuckle. "The Flash was flirting back?" Barry laughed and shrugged.

"Not to mention the Flash did give you his number."

"The Flash gave me his number!"

Barry chuckled softly and carefully walked towards Hartley, "You're not mad, are you? That I didn't tell you?"

Hartley sighed and shook his head, "I was shocked at first. But no, I'm not mad, Scarlet."

Barry laughed and shook his head, "This Scarlet thing is really sticking?"

Hartley laughed and shrugged, "It really is. So when are we going on that date?"

Barry raised his eyebrow with a sheepish grin, "I think I'm going to need a rain check. As you can see, I have an evil speedster in my basement that needs to be taken care of."

Hartley sighed and rubbed his eyes dry, "Let me know if I can help. Till then, I think I need to go sleep." Hartley turned to leave when Barry held his arm and looked down at him for a moment. He seemed to lose his words with every second and he just continued to stare at Hartley. "Barry… Let me go?"

Barry bit his lip and let go of Hartley's arm, "S-Sorry… I don't know what I wanted to say… It was just…uh… Will you be okay? Going back home, I mean. If you need a place to stay, I'm sure we can clear up a room downstairs…"

Hartley laughed and looked at Barry, "Right. That…may actually be a good idea."

And of course, with Barry's super speed, it only took a few seconds for Hartley to have a comfortable bed to sleep in. Barry closed the door and walked back to the cortex once Hartley was comfortably asleep.


End file.
